Kamala Harris, husband plan ‘community conversations’ in Miami Thursday

Image via AP

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for Vice President, will be in Miami Thursday, along with husband, Doug Emhoff.

The two will split up for different demographically tailored “community conversation” events, rather than doing a combined appearance, according to a Wednesday evening advisory from the Joe Biden campaign.

Senator Harris will discuss issues important to the African-American community with Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and Miami Shores Mayor Crystal Wagar at Florida Memorial University.

Emhoff will convene with Congresswoman Debbie Wassserman Schultz, Miami-Dade Commissioner Daniella Levine Cava and rabbis at the Aventura Turnberry Jewish Center.

For Emhoff and Harris both, this is the second Florida foray in recent weeks, demonstrating the importance of the battleground state to the Biden camp’s calculus.

In late August, she and U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell held a “Build Back Better” roundtable with Miami-area Hispanic entrepreneurs. However, that was a virtual event. Emhoff, meanwhile, had a virtual “Believers for Biden” event separately.

Whether Emhoff and Harris do a deep dive into Florida issues is an open question.

During the August event with Mucarsel-Powell, Harris demonstrated a limited engagement with Florida issues, offering a generic denunciation of Gov. Ron DeSantis (along with President Donald Trump) “have failed to manage the coronavirus.”

Otherwise, most of the messaging was big picture, responsive to national themes and issues.

Similarly, Emhoff’s role (as is often the case with executive branch spouses) likely won’t be to offer policy prescriptions of his own, so much as to affirm the Senator. The home state Los Angeles Times, in a favorable piece, called him the “first-cheerleader-in-chief.”

Joe Biden is headed to the state next week, according to an advisory from the campaign.

However, his wife Jill Biden has made not one but two virtual forays into Florida, on her “back to school” tour highlighting the Biden/Harris ticket’s educational proposals.